To make the dough: In a large bowl, stir together all of the ingredients until a shaggy dough forms. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.

When you're ready to shape your pizzas, turn the dough out onto a well-floured counter, being careful not to deflate too much of the air in the dough. Using a bench scraper or knife, divide the dough in half. Working with one half of the dough at a time, grab a corner of the dough and pull it up and over to the center. Continue to grab the corners of the dough, pulling towards the center, to form a taut ball. Pinch together the seams of the dough, and then flip over so that the seam is facing down. Repeat with the second half of the dough.

Pour a generous amount of olive oil (about 1 tablespoon) into two 9-inch cast iron skillets (see note). Swirl the oil around to coat the bottom and sides of the pan. Place one dough round into each skillet and turn to coat in the oil. Flip the dough rounds so that they are seam side-down, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature for 2 hours.

About 1 hour into the proofing, turn the oven on to 550 degrees, or as high as it will go.

Meanwhile, make the sauce: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter is foamy, add the garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring, until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and the onion half and bring to a simmer. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and flavorful, about 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard the onion half. Season to taste with salt.

To top and cook the pizzas: After 2 hours of proofing, unwrap the skillets. Use your fingers to press the dough out until it reaches the sides of the skillets and pop any large bubbles that you see. Spread about 1/2 cup of the sauce onto each dough round and top with the cheese. Sprinkle the fresh oregano over the cheese and bake until well browned, 10 to 15 minutes.

Immediately sprinkle the top of the pizzas with Parmesan and drizzle with olive oil. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. Sprinkle basil leaves over the top, slice and serve.

Photo: Kate Williams

About the recipe

As with baking bread, the easiest way to work pizza baking into your real life is to start with a no-knead recipe. Not only does no-knead dough take only minutes to stir together, it is also very forgiving. Get a last-minute dinner invite? Just pop the dough in the fridge for another day. Want to plan far in advance? The dough in this recipe freezes beautifully.

For pure and simple cuteness factor, I decided to develop this recipe to make two individual-sized skilletpizzas. It's easier to customize them to suit your taste — and, really, who doesn't love sitting down to a full pizza you can have all to yourself? That said, you can also make the recipe in one large skillet. This amount of dough will fit perfectly in a 12-inch cast iron skillet.

The dough portion of this recipe was tested by measuring all amounts in grams. For best results, you should do the same. We used Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt and SAF Instant Yeast. Feel free to use storebought pizza sauce in place of homemade, if you'd like. If you'd like to make the pizza dough further in advance, divide the dough in half, shape into rounds, place in individual zipper lock bags and refrigerate for up to three days or freeze for up to one month.

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